From Ethnic Conflict to Stillborn Reform

The Former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia

By Shale Horowitz

From Ethnic Conflict to Stillborn Reform is the first complete treatment of the major post-communist conflicts in both the former Yugoslavia— Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia—and the former Soviet Union—Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Tajikistan. It is also the first work that focuses not on causes but rather on consequences for democratization and market reform, the two most widely studied political outcomes in the developing world.

Building on existing work emphasizing the effects of economic development and political culture, the book adds a new, comprehensive treatment of how war affects political and economic reform.

Author Shale Horowitz employs both statistical evidence and historical case studies of the eight new nations to determine that ethnic conflict entangles, distracts, and destabilizes reformist democratic governments, while making it easier for authoritarian leaders to seize and consolidate power. As expected, economic backwardness worsens these tendencies, but Horowitz finds that powerful reform-minded nationalist ideologies can function as antidotes.

The comprehensiveness of the treatment, use of both qualitative and quantitative analysis, and focus on standard concepts from comparative politics make this book an excellent tool for classroom use, as well as a ground-breaking analysis for scholars.

SHALE HOROWITZ is an associate professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and has written widely on political and economic development and ethnic conflict, particularly in the post-communist world and in East and South Asia. His Ph.D. is from the University of California at Los Angeles.

What Readers Are Saying:

“Horowitz has done an excellent job in conducting his research and analysis, and the result is a solid piece of scholarship that contributes greatly to our understanding of ethnic conflict and post-communist reform in the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. In short, with this work Horowitz has made an important contribution to the field of Russian and East European Studies.”--Christopher Marsh, Baylor University

“Horowitz has done an excellent job in conducting his research and analysis, and the result is a solid piece of scholarship that contributes greatly to our understanding of ethnic conflict and post-communist reform in the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. In short, with this work Horowitz has made an important contribution to the field of Russian and East European Studies.” --Christopher Marsh, Baylor University

“Horowitz’s path-breaking study tackles the question of the causes and consequences of war in the post-socialist world. It is the first study to directly compare the wars in the Balkans with those in the former Soviet Union. Through a combination of statistical analysis and case study, Horowitz explores the complex relationship between nationalist leaders, the wars they often cause (or fail to prevent), and their uphill postwar struggle to rebuild their societies through political and economic reform.” --Peter Rutland, Dept. of Govt., Wesleyan University

“In this sophisticated and wide-ranging book, Shale Horowitz takes seriously one of the central counterfactuals in the post-communist world: What difference did ethnic war make in the politics of the region, and how might the pace and depth of political reform been different had governments managed to avoid interethnic confrontation?War is always a tragic outcome, but its effects on longer-term political development are variable. Much depends on the nature of the existing regime, the ideological orientations of political actors, the constellation of authority in the prewar society, and the interests of external powers. As Horowitz shows, these factors help explain why some post-communist states have weathered ethnic war and emerged as relatively stable, democratic polities, while others have remained mired in unresolved conflicts and authoritarianism.” --Charles King, Chair of the Faculty, Georgetown University“…a significant addi

“A significant addition to the literature on transition and ethnic conflict.” --Journal of Peace Research

“Horowitz’s book is an important and unique effort to combine a broad comparative approach with in-depth case study analysis to shed light on what is a critical question in comparative and international politics.” --Political Science Quarterly